A Christmas for Family
by Hachichi the Medic
Summary: Takes place in-bewteen "We Are Not Alone" chapters seven and eight. Having family and friends drop in with warning around the holidays can be a pain, but it doesn't get much worse than that, right? ...Right?
1. Part One

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: December 19th, 2009

Welcome! You might be wondering why I gathered you all here—Well, instead of the normal update, I bring you a multi-chapter, extra-special Keroro Christmas special! Just a note, this has fancharacters that I've been using in my stories—But don't let something like that turn you away! Here's a quick rundown on what and who you'll see that you might not know!

Kirere—A failed attempt at a Pekoponian supersoldier, made by Kururu with both his and Giroro's DNA. Clumsy, good natured, but not all that bright. Excels in mechanics and puzzles, loves curry. Has a bit of a crush on Dororo; Tororo's developed a little crush on her of his own since she lost her temper and beat him up. Her switch comes on when she's called stupid; her hidden Kururu ego meets her hidden Giroro temper, and she becomes an uncontrollable force. Keroro falls to more accidents when he's around her, and Tamama treats her as an annoying little sister. Garuru knows of Kirere's true nature, but the rest of the Platoon plays it off as though she's Giroro's child with Kururu's older sister.

Haruki Suzuyama—Kirere's Pekoponian. A mechanic who owns a junkyard and spends most of his time dodging bill collectors. Has a crush on Aki, much to Natsumi's chagrin. He comes from a rich family who specialized in building motorcycles, but has cut off most ties to them. Grew up with his grandmother who was a firm believer in spirits and yokai.

Romama—A young major and the leader of the first scout mission to Pekopon, which ended in failure. Romama was only awakened about one hundred years ago by a Russian occultist named Nikolai Kezanstav who later used Romama as a weapon for his own personal gain. He's still very young, falling between Kirere and Tamama's ages, and quickly loses patience. Keroro's distant uncle, and a mute who uses Dororo as an interpreter. He lives above a dance studio. Only the Keroro Platoon and their Pekoponians know of his existence.

Aya—A Pekoponian who Romama's taken to protecting. Not much is known about her, except for the fact she is the worst student in a dance class in the studio Romama lives above. This isn't for lack of trying; she practices often, and Romama makes sure to take care of her without being seen by her. Aya doesn't know of Romama, but she knows someone is watching out for her—She refers to this unseen force as her "Little Angel".

The Hug Jar—Not a person, but an important object. Kirere loves to show affection, but her hugs often leave the wicked Kururu incapacitated for some time. Kirere takes the money she earns from helping Haruki and from her allowance and places it in the "Hug Jar" Kururu's set up; when she fills it with the right amount of money, she cashes it in for a hug.

All right, with that done, on with the chapter! :D P.S.: This doesn't mean I'm not updating my other story... I just wanted to do something in the spirit of the season! :keroro3:

"Oh tannerbaum, oh tannerbaum!" the sergeant sang at the top of his scratchy voice as the went about dusting, going to work dusting the television, the tables, and anything else with the slightest gray haze over it, singing to himself all the while. In one corner of the Hinatas' living room there was already a Christmas tree set up, with bulbs of every different color, golden garland, and a matching golden star atop it.

"Ojiisan!" Kirere shouted out, and the sergeant gave a start, tumbling off of his stool and falling onto the ground, his duster now atop his head.

"H-hello, Kirere-chan…" Keroro croaked from his spot crumpled on the ground. "What brings you out here this time of the day?"

"Haruki's off avoiding some bill collectors, and Papa kicked me out of the lab, and I can't find Dad anywhere so I thought I'd hang out with you!" Kirere answered with a wide grin. "Won't that be great?!"

An afternoon with Kirere usually led to broken limbs, Keroro thought with a shiver.

"Is there anything I can help you with? Oh, I know!" she picked up a glass jar full of Christmas candies from atop a table, and Keroro immediately began to protest as he saw the potential dangers of her carrying something heavy and fragile. "I'll help dust this!"

"That's really all right, Kirere-chan, you can—"

CRASH!

The glass shattered as Kirere placed the jar back on the table with much too much force, and Keroro watched this all unfold in horror. The green Keronian went pale, and Kirere slowly backed away.

"I… I'll go play outside in the snow…" she said in a whisper, shutting the door behind her to the back yard.

"I can only hope she's one day blessed with children just like her," Keroro sighed and hung his head.

"I heard something break, Stupid Frog, what did you—That's an heirloom!" Natsumi gasped in horror as she stopped short into the living room.

"N-Natsumi-dono, I didn't, what I mean is, I, I—"

Kirere didn't hear the scream that followed as she walked out back into the back yard and looked about, seeing Giroro's tent but no sign of Giroro. He had mentioned something vaguely about shopping for the invasion and then had left her in a rush.

"Everyone's always too busy for me," she muttered, heaving a sigh and taking a seat on one of the bricks in front of Giroro's extinguished fire. Neko hopped up on the same block and gave a meow, still warm from sleeping in Giroro's tent throughout the night.

Kirere scratched beneath the cat's chin, then gave a glance at the tent and tilted her head to one side. "Hrm."

"Can I help you, um, Sir?" the woman in the department store ended with confusion in her voice as she laid eyes upon the intimidating red-faced man who looked lost among the girls' items.

"N-no, I'm fine," Giroro answered, turning away from her and going back to the ad. Not one, but two women to find something for this year. Finding gifts for both of them was proving a challenge. He knew exactly what he wanted to get one, but couldn't find it anywhere. Conversely he had no idea what to get the other one but was being bombarded by ideas.

"Sir! Sir, you can't smoke in here!" shouted the same clerk as she headed over to a man who was lighting up in the middle of the store.

"Can't smoke anywhere these days!" grumbled the voice.

"Eh? That voice… The bill-dodger!" Giroro said aloud in amazement as there stood Haruki in the same area of the department store. Their eyes met, and an awkward silence passed between them.

"So yeah, the last time I had to buy something for a girl it was a human girl," Haruki explained as he and Giroro now walked down the aisles of the store. "I don't even know what to get a human girl half the time, muchless an alien one!"

"Heh," was Giroro's only answer as they rode down the escalator.

"Eh? What's that you have circled? A music box? Knowing your kid, she'd probably just take it apart or give it wheels," Haruki muttered as he looked over at the ad Giroro studied intently in his hands. Giroro's face went red, and he closed the ad tightly and growled.

"It's none of your business, Pekoponian! I didn't ask you to follow me!" Giroro snapped.

"Not for Kirere then, eh?" Haruki grinned, and laughed. "You're really a softie underneath that tough layer!"

"And underneath that layer lies a man who only keeps you alive to amuse his daughter," Giroro answered, and Haruki's grin immediately fell.

"…So, wonder if they have power tools in pink…."

"Don't make idle conversation with me, Pekoponian," Giroro snapped in a warning. "I'm only tagging along out of pity towards you!"

"Not because you're just as clueless, got it," Haruki nodded, and looked about as they entered the tool department. "Hey, Miss Clerk Lady! Does this electric drill come in other colors? Pink, maybe? Purple's all right, too!"

"This is going to be a long day," Giroro muttered to himself.

"Please? I know I can do this! I'm the fourth backup, I'm supposed to take over for them! I know the entire routine!"

Romama took a break from decorating the small Christmas tree he had found up in the attic and scuttled over to the area where he was best able to view the dance class. It was Aya, following around her teacher.

The rest of the class had gone, but only Aya remained there, with the trapped teacher. "My… My father's coming to town, and…. It would mean the world to him if I could at least have a little part! I know you didn't think the other three girls would all have to drop out, but they did, and… And I was their backup for this part!"

Romama's fists clenched in anticipation as he awaited the teacher's response, along with Aya. The teacher stood there for a few moments, looking down at Aya, then sighed.

"I'm only doing this because of the season, and I need most of the other girls for other parts… It's a small number, so it shouldn't be too bad, and you will have a partner… This is your one chance, Aya."

"I… I won't let you down!" Aya nodded, and Romama gave way to a rare grin.

"A Christmas tree? I never took you for the festive type, Romama-dono!" Romama jumped at the noise behind him, and swiveled around on the floor to see Dororo. "I'm sorry if I frightened you… I just wanted to bring this, it's from Teicho-dono… It's an invitation. I'd be inclined to take it, Christmas is a time for family, afterall."

He set the letter in Romama's hand, and Romama looked at it, puzzled. When he finally looked back up, Dororo was gone… He was left alone with the hand-written, goofy-looking invitation. It was a Christmas card with Keroro right on the front; on the back were gift ideas for the sergeant. He shook his head and tossed the card to a side, and went back to decorating the tiny tree in his home.

"Eh? Kii-chi, what're you doing!?" Tamama gasped as he turned the corner, his mouth dropping open in shock at the sight before him. He had come to see Keroro, to see if his Gunso had wanted to share in some rare and expensive snacks Momoka had bought for the holiday, and instead came upon Kirere, who already had half of the Hinata house done up in white Christmas lights.

"Making it nice! Now come on and help me!" Kirere answered as she jiggled one of the bulbs on the strand of lights, causing it to suddenly come to life with white light.

"I think someone's gonna be mad at you for doing all this without asking…" Tamama began, but this his inner self stopped his train of thought suddenly, 'But if they like it, and I help…. And Santa's coming soon, so that means I have to be nice! Even to Kii-chi… I bet this would get much a bunch of Santa points!'

"Huh? Oh!" Kirere gasped as she felt her feet lift off of the ground, and Tamama smiled as he held her up by the waist to give her a better reach to a higher part of the house.

"Now hurry up and get those lights put up! You're heavier than you look!" Tamama instructed with a grin, although a forced one. She really was heavy; it must've been the curry. Kirere returned the smile, and began to string up another set of lights.

A full day, and not a single idea… Giroro entered into the house grimly, and went down to the base. The day had been a disaster… He hadn't found the music box for Natsumi anywhere, even after visiting five department stores. And Haruki drove like a lunatic, which had left him sore and mentally exhausted from having his life flash before his eyes so many times. At one point even Dororo's life flashed before his eyes.

"I care for her… But we have so little in common…" he muttered as the doors slid open. "Maybe there's a hint in her room, and—What the hell!?"

"Kukuku! I have no idea, either. I came home and it was like this," Kururu turned around in his chair and pulled off the red Santa Claus hat. There were lights all about the laboratory, enough strung up to make it look as festive as one of the department stores Giroro had visited. "I have a feeling as to who's behind it, kuku!"

"Kirere…" Giroro's should fell, and he sighed. "She's a free-spirit."

"Kuku! I didn't program that, don't blame me," Kururu laughed, and turned back around in his chair. "….You must want something if you're here this long without attacking me."

"I… I was just wondering what you were getting her for Christmas."

"Eh? Is that an obligation?" Kururu asked tiredly.

"Yes!" Giroro answered sharply. "This is one of the most important holidays to children on Pekopon! They look forward to receiving gifts more than anyone!"

"Well, we are on Pekopon, but she's not Pekoponian…" Kururu muttered.

"Idiot," Giroro huffed, and turned away from him. "Like I thought for a moment I'd get help from him!"

He went to go into Kirere's room, but stopped dead as there stood Natsumi with her arms folded in front of it.

"N-Natsumi! I can explain the—"

"There was someone on the front porch for you," Natsumi stepped out of the way, and there was Garuru, looking about in the bedroom already. There was a wrapped package under his left arm, and he was bundled down in a heavy military green coat, gloves, and a pair of red earmuffs.

"Nii-chan! W-what're you doing here!?"


	2. Part Two

Chapter 2

"Making sure she didn't have this already," Garuru answered. "I heard gift giving was an important part of this Pekopon holiday."

"I meant on this planet," Giroro snapped.

"I told you I was going to visit for the winter… I mentioned this, or did you forget? And did you say nii-chan?"

"No!" Giroro shot back quickly. "It's rude to come over unannounced like this!"

"I sent letters, you never answered back," Garuru answered. "I took the silence as a yes."

"….K-Keroro!" Giroro called at the top of his lungs, enough to where the sergeant, who had just retired to his room to build Gunpla, heard it, and cringed.

"I hate it when I've done something and I don't even remember what it was!" Keroro sighed.

Meanwhile, outside in the backyard, it was clear that Garuru was not the only one from the platoon visiting. Tororo watched from the corner of the Hinata house, shaking, as Kirere stood on Tamama's head to string up another set of lights onto the side of the house.

"How can they stand this cold!? I'm dying here!" Tororo muttered to himself.

"I know, right?!" came Taruru's happy laugh, and Tororo gave a start, and jumped back.

"W-what're you doing here?!"

"Well, I thought I'd give you a hand! I mean, I am your senior officer, and older than you, so I figured I could bestow a little bit of wisdom!"

"Go… Home!" Tororo began to push him back, then turned back once again as he heard a yell. Kirere had fallen into the snow, having lost her balance, and she and Tamama had managed to tangle themselves in a strand of lights.

"Why am I surprised you can even get out of bed in the morning?" Tamama bemoaned as he attempted to free himself from the lights.

"Hey, Sensei! Long time, no see!" Taruru called out as he turned the corner.

"No! Stop!" Tororo hissed, but it was too late.

"Taruru?" Tamama blinked, standing now that he was free from the rope of lights. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, we have a little bit of vacation time, so I thought I'd spend mine coming down here to visit! Hey, it's Kirere-chan! Boy, you're getting so tall! I bet you get nearly run over all of the time being so tiny, so you must be happy you're finally growing!"

"Hehehe, so!" Tamama quickly changed the subject as he felt the seething dislike emit from Kirere. "How about we go have some yummy Christmas cookies!?"

"I don't like sugar," Kirere answered as she returned to work.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Taruru answered. "Tororo will probably want some, too!"

"Tororo?" Kirere wondered aloud, and sure enough, Tororo turned the same corner, shuffling his feet and looking down at the powdery white snow.

"Yeah, he came to visit the… Pekopon winter! Neither of us have ever seen the stuff before," Taruru quickly changed gears, and Tororo said nothing to this. "It's really cold, huh? We should all get inside, especially Kirere-chan! Her tiny immune system might not be able to take this weather!"

"I think Kii-chi's fine, let's have some cookies!" Tamama chuckled nervously as Kirere bent and then snapped a plastic candy cane she'd been trying to stick into the ground.

"Good luck!" Taruru whispered to Tororo as he followed Tamama into the Hinata household.

"Um… Here…" Tororo lifted up another plastic candy cane and passed it to Kirere. "Pupupu… Why are you wasting your time with something like this, anyway?"

"Because it's my first Christmas," Kirere answered, grunting as she tried with all of her effort to put the candy cane into the ground. "And I thought it'd look pretty! I've been watching Christmas specials all month with Mois-chan to get ideas! I've mailed my letter to Santa and everything!"

"Santa?"

"He's a big Pekoponian with superpowers, who dresses in red and leaves gifts for good kids!" Kirere answered. "And his ship's fast enough to do it all in one single night. Not even Pa—I mean, Kuru-san… Can make a ship that fast! I asked him and he just started laughing!"

"Why's he leave gifts? What's in it for him?"

"Cookies and milk. And carrots for the reindeer, too."

"….That's it? Why hasn't this place been conquered yet?"

"Oh! And it's a time when people buy presents for people they like!" she added, totally ignoring the backhanded question.

"L-like?" Tororo gave a start at this, and Kirere nodded.

"Yeah, like friends, family, or couples. Or just someone you like," Kirere answered as she picked up a golden metal star from one of the brown boxes on the snowy ground and looked about. "Hrm… Where could I put this? Oh, I know!"

"So who've you bought presents for?"

"Who? Well—Doro-kun!" Kirere called out as the ninja made his appearance by hopping onto one of the posts of the neighboring fence. Koyuki joined him moments later, sitting crouched on the wall of the fence. "And Koyuki-san!"

"Wowwww!" Koyuki's eyes glittered as she looked about at the festive sight. "It's so bright! Look at all of the lights, Dororo!"

"It is impressive!" Dororo added, "Kirere-chan, did you do all of this on your own?"

"No… Tama-nii-chan's been helping me a lot, and now Tororo is!" Kirere explained.

"Is there anything we can do?" Koyuki hopped off of the fence and looked down at Kirere, and Kirere glanced up at the house.

"If you could reach some of the higher-up spots…."

"We're on it!" Koyuki nodded, and took up a bundle of lights. Dororo quickly followed, hopping up onto the roof of the house.

"Good, so Santa will definitely find us! Eh? You're shaking…" Kirere muttered as she noted Tororo shaking horribly, even under a heavy jacket and scarf.

She took both of his hands, but at that same moment, Giroro trudged out through the heavy snow, stopping in front of his tent and giving a squeak of a yelp. There were lights covering the tent. Blinking, multicolored lights. And golden garland. And a golden star atop it all.

Garuru gave the smallest of amused chuckles as he sipped his hot chocolate, which immediately stopped as he laid eyes upon Kirere with her hands over Tororo's. Tororo quickly pulled his hands away from her leaving Kirere confused. She quickly overcame this as she noticed her uncle.

"Ojiisama!" she called out, embracing Garuru about the waist. He placed a hand on her head and patted it a few times.

"Could you say a bright light in a dull day?" Mois quipped with a grin while sitting with Tamama and Taruru eating cookies.

'No one asked that woman to join us!' Tamama hissed in his thoughts as he took a hard bite of a cookie. 'I have to be good, though, or Santa won't bring me anything! Damn this is going to be harder than I thought!'

"What's going on?" Natsumi asked as she ventured outside at the sound of feet on the roof. "Ko-Koyuki-chan?!"

"Hiii, Natsumi-san!" Koyuki waved from the roof. "We're nearly done already!"

"Oh!" Natsumi jerked back as she noticed Giroro's loudly-colored tent. "Giroro, did you do this? It must be every light we had in the garage!"

"And some more, too!" Kirere added. "I used some of the money from my hug jar to get some more lights! And Haruki had a bunch at his place, too, that he wasn't using!"

"I'd think with all of the people he owes he'd want to look as inconspicuous as possible," Natsumi muttered, and then sighed. Kirere looked so happy with her work, it was going to be hard telling her that it might have to come down, "Well, this is… Bright. I don't know what Mama's going to think though."

"I'm curious as to what the point of all of this is," Garuru muttered, taking another sip from his cup and then looking down into it. "That's a nice wreath on the door of your home, Giroro."

"Sh-shut up," Giroro grumbled, and stormed into his tent, leaving Garuru there to finish his drink and a confused Kirere beside him.

"Hot chocolate, eh? Well, it's better than military-rationed coffee…" Garuru said as he finished off the cup and then cleared his throat. "Why don't you show me what you've been working on since last time I saw you?"

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Kirere immediately lit up again, and bounded for the house. "Come on, I'm rebuilding a mecha, all on my own!"

Kirere led away Garuru, and Natsumi gave a small smirk, "She never runs out of energy…" she then knelt down onto the snowy ground, and pulled aside the front door to Giroro's tent.

"It has to be this. I have to find it," Giroro said in a whisper to himself as he looked at the crumpled advertisement in his hand. "If she—"

"Giroro?"

"Eh? Oh, Natsumi!"

"What's wrong with you? Sure it's not your style, but it seems like she went to a lot of hard work to make it look nice… We haven't had up this many lights since I was little!"

"Oh… Well, it's not that," Giroro glanced downward at the ground, having quickly shoved the ad underneath a canteen on his table. "I'm just…"

"Oh, I get it!" Natsumi laughed. "This is your first Christmas buying something for a little girl!"

"What?! H-how did you know?"

"Well, there is a big stack of toy catalogs, and I don't think it's for you," she climbed entirely into the tent, and sat with her legs folded underneath her. She took up one of the magazines and began to flip through it. "It's got to be hard, she's got tastes that are so different from yours! …She acts a lot like you, though."

"What? We… We don't act a thing like one another!"

"Not like that, but she actually seems to care about other people. And that isn't from Kururu," Natsumi said lightly, too concerned with the magazine to notice Giroro's deep, deep blush. "Look at this!"

"Yes, what is it?" he gingerly took a few steps next to her and looked ahead at the catalog.

"This looks like her style…"

"Are you certain? Maybe… We should look for a backup, too."

"In case you can't find it," Natsumi nodded. "Good idea."

'And… So that this can last even a little longer,' Giroro thought as he handed her off another catalog and he himself took up another one.

"And this is something I'm working on, but I'm building it from scratch, not rebuilding it!" Kirere announced proudly as she moved with Garuru over to a work table, and held up a metallic ball. He looked at the green and white ball, about the size of a soccer ball, in silent contemplation, and said nothing, but waited for her to continue.

"It's going to be able to talk, and maybe shoot lasers. I haven't decided yet," she answered, and threw up the ball in the air, catching it once again and then setting it back on the table. "That's about it for now… So where are Pururu-san and Zoruru-san?"

"Pururu is off visiting family…Zoruru… Doesn't like these sort of things," Garuru answered as he looked about the small work area. "It seems as though you have a lot of potential, you could make a fine mechanic yet, maybe for a private company."

"I thought about going into the military—I wanna be an even higher rank than you!" Kirere announced happily, and Garuru felt a twitch in one eye. If she was able to harness all of her power, it wouldn't be that hard a feat.

"It's good to have goals. So what's this doing here?" Garuru pointed to a disassembled radio, and Kirere hopped up on a stepstool and picked up a few pieces.

"This is for Romama-kun, his radio broke and I'm fixing it for him!"

"Romama?" Garuru repeated. Kirere's blood went cold and her eyes wide; she'd forgotten Garuru didn't know about Romama. "Who's Romama?"

"He's, well…."

"Kuku! There you are. I actually need you for something," Kururu came in much to Kirere's relief, and she quickly hopped down from her stool and ran to her father.

"I'll show you more later!" Kirere called out to Garuru.

"Romama…" Garuru repeated. He knew that name, but from where he wasn't sure.


	3. Part Three

Chapter 3

"And one, and two, and three, and—Aya, come on now!" the teacher huffed in frustration. It was the following day, two days until Christmas and one until the Christmas pageant Aya's dance class was putting on, and Aya was still as lost as she'd started, at seven in the morning. It was afternoon now, and Romama watched, a bit worried, as Aya continually missed her cues or caused her own dance partner to miss his. This was her second dance partner, the first had given up on her and left.

"One more time, please," Aya begged. "I know I've got it this time."

"One more," the dance instructor answered gravely, and took a few steps back from Aya and her partner.

Romama could see Aya beginning to shake at the knees; she was nervous and wearing herself thin. If she only had a little hand with her balance….  
The music started up again, and Aya and her partner began their dance again. A few moves in, she went to take a tumble, but found much to hers and her teacher's surprise that she did not; she felt a force helping her to keep her balance.

Romama, meanwhile, was thankful for his cloaking device, as well as his own strength. As Aya moved, her moved along with her at her side, making sure she kept her balance. There was once point at which she stepped on his tail, but the music was loud enough to drown out the crunching noise and the ever-so-small squeak of pain that emitted from Romama. By the end of the dance, he sprawled out on the ground, panting heavily. He took another blow as the dance instructor stepped right on him on her way to Aya.

"You weren't joking when you said you had it…" the instructor gave way to a rare amused smile.

"So that was all right?"

"It was perfect," the instructor answered. "That's the quality we're looking for in the show. If you keep that up, you may very well prove that you're learning something afterall. All right, class dismissed for today, remember to keep practicing!"

Aya waited until everyone was gone from the classroom, and then she herself laid down on the ground, only a few inches from Romama, and she laughed happily. Romama smiled; he loved seeing this happy Aya for a change.

"My Little Angel must have helped me again," she said to herself. "I felt like I was floating!"

It was worth the more-than-likely fractured tail, Romama concluded.

"Boy, that was the best sleep I had in ages!" Taruru yawned and stretched, then placed his hands behind his head and laughed. "Those rich Pekopoians sure know how to live, I'll give them that! That Nishizawa Pekoponian's house makes this one look like a mere shanty! I wonder where Garuru Chui went during the night… Eh, no matter! He'll probably be at the house anyway. Eh? What's wrong with you, Tororo-chan?... Ohh, I see! Only a few more days until our vacation's over and you haven't gotten any closer with Kirere-chan!"

'He could go on forever…' Tororo thought with a grumble as he came up to the Hinata house with Taruru at his side. Both stopped in the snow at the sight of another Pekoponian out front, one who looked to be working with an out strand of lights. They came out of attack mode as he nodded to them and greeted them.

"Great, they're back," Natsumi rolled her eyes, and Fuyuki, from inside the house, looked up from his paranormal magazine, and gave a good-hearted laugh.

"Come on now, Nee-chan! They seem to be here this time as friends!"

"Still… I don't like having so many aliens running around the house, Fuyuki! It's creepy and I have a hard time keeping up with all of them! Say, I haven't seen Stupid Frog around all day…"

"Maybe he's getting ready for the holiday, too."

"You can trust him all you want, Fuyuki. I still don't."

"Eh? Where're you going, Nee-chan?"

"To see what he's up to!" Natsumi called out as she disappeared down the small hallway and into Keroro's room. She wasn't sure what she was going to find, but she knew it would probably either disgust, horrify, or anger her. She kicked open the door and stopped, utterly bewildered at the sight upon her.

"All right, great job! Giroro Gocho, you were a little flat toward the end, but other than that, great work!" Keroro chirped out as he stood there with a baton in hand, the other four in front of him like a semi-circle and with music sheets in their hands.

"Wh-what're you doing?" Natsumi ventured to ask.

"Why, partaking in the old Pekoponian tradition of singing Christmas carols, Natsumi-dono! It's to raise the morale of the group!" Keroro explained with an angelic grin.

"Could you say possessed by the spirit of the season?" Mois chimed in as she set down a tray of hot tea for the five and stood, her always-cheery smile on her face.

Natsumi's eyebrow twitched, and her head fell, "You're all so weird! Just… Don't do anything evil!" the door slammed behind her, and Giroro tossed down the sheet music almost as quickly.

"Now explain to me why I just spent the last hour singing about a sugar plums and chestnuts roasting over open fires!" Giroro demanded.

"Mm… I don't know what a sugar plum is, but it sounds delicious!" Tamama said with a smile.

"Gero gero! It wasn't a lie I was telling Natsumi-dono for a change!"

"W-what?!" Giroro yelped, his voice cracking.

"We've been so busy with invasion strategies this month I figured we needed a boost in morale!"

"We've only had two this month!" Giroro snapped.

"And that's two more than last month, Giroro Gocho!" Keroro grinned.

"Kukuku! Don't you think Giroro Senpai's brother would find it odd we're taking time celebrating a Pekoponian holiday instead of working? Kuuuukukuku!"

"I think he just reminded us why he's useful," Tamama muttered gravely as he gauged Keroro and Giroro's horrified expressions.

"Geroooo! We have to think of something, even if it fails, we can't look like total slackers!" Keroro cried, his hands on his head. "Oh no, oh no! It'll be back and headquarters in no time, and I'll be sunk!"

"Nii-chan's been here twenty-four hours and all he's seen is us decorating like we were Pekoponians ourselves…" Giroro said numbly.

"Gerooo!" Keroro gave another long wail and stared ahead, crouched now and his hands still on his head. The doom in the room was heavy.

"Eh?" Keroro stopped suddenly, as if something had snapped in his mind. "W-wait, I have an idea! Kururu Socho, do you still have that one invention, for invasion strategy FZN?"

"Kuku! My, this must be serious if you're wanting to use that," Kururu laughed, a bit amused by the entire situation.

"Gunso-san, what's that?" Tamama wondered aloud, and Keroro gave a menacing cackle.

"It's a plan so good I put it away for an emergency like this…" Keroro grinned villainously. "It's sure to win! We have to get to work right away, Giroro Gocho, do you know where Kirere-chan is? Eh? Giroro?"

"G-Giroro-dono, you're in my corner…" said Dororo softly as they all glanced over and saw Giroro in Dororo's usual traumatized position. Mois picked up the red Keronian in this same position, and Keroro opened the door to their base, and all filed in, one at a time.

"So you want me to keep them all busy, instead of helping," Kirere concluded, and Keroro tilted his head to one side.

"Well, you will be helping by keeping Garuru Chui busy, Kirere-chan! You probably know Pekopon the best, given your tendency for liking so many Pekponian things."

"But you like Gunpla, that's Pekoponian…"

"…T-That's different…"

"How's it—"

"Kuku, I'll multiply your allowance if you keep him busy," Kururu chimed in, and this got Kirere's attention.

"I'll go show him how to make a snowman!"

"Good girl," Keroro nodded, and Kirere scurried off.

"How much are you thinking of multiplying it by?" Giroro asked, and Kururu gave a laugh.

"You can multiply zero by as much as you want, it's still zero. Kuuukukuku!"

"T-that's playing very dirty," Keroro mumbled, collapsing on his podium. "I'm glad you weren't my dad…"

"Kuku! She should pay more attention to math."

"G-getting back to things, if we could… We'll launch our operation starting tonight, and work through the night if possible. Anything to at least look like we're managing something," Keroro continued.

'Tonight?!' Giroro's eyes flew open. Tomorrow night was Christmas Eve…. And he still hadn't gotten his shopping for either Natsumi or Kirere done!

"Eh Giroro Gocho, something the matter?" Keroro leaned forward on his podium a bit, and Giroro shook himself out of his thoughts.

"N-no, nothing! I'm fine! Tonight will work out nicely. We should get started right away!"

While they went to work in the base, upstairs the Hinata house was much quieter. Natsumi was already beginning to bake for Christmas while Fuyuki finished wrapping gifts. Kirere was a pink blur to them both, and rushed out into the backyard. Taruru was enjoying himself by making a snow angel while Tororo only looked at this activity puzzled. Garuru was just stepping out of Giroro tent when Kirere rushed out, running straight into her uncle and falling back on the snow.

"You shouldn't run so fast, you're already quite prone to accidents," Garuru lifted her back up onto the snow and stood her next to him.

"What were you doing in there?" Kirere asked, rubbing her head.

"Just dropping something off for him. What brought you out here so quickly?"

"Oh! I wanted to show you, ummm…. Downtown! There's a lot of pretty lights this time of year!"

Taruru sat up and chuckled to himself, "Like someone as tough as Garuru Chui would—"

"I'd enjoy that," Garuru answered, stunning Taruru and Tororo. "But no more running."

"Yeah, you got it!" Kirere laughed happily. That raise in her allowance was hers yet!

Aki Hinata gave a yawn as she pulled up to her home, and removed her helmet after stopping her bike. "Suzuyama-san?... What're you doing here?" she asked, noting Haruki up on a ladder on the side of her house, fixing a strand of Christmas lights.

"Hi! I was just, um, fixing a light, and… How're you doing?" Haruki asked with a pleasant smile, hopping down from his ladder.

"Mama! Fuyuki and I were hoping you'd come home soon!" Haruki gave a sigh of defeat as Natsumi walked out of the house, a mixing bowl still in her arm. Haruki could have sworn that her timing was more than coincidence. "You must be so tired!"

"Looks like you've all been busy while I was gone," Aki hopped off of her bike and still held her helmet as she inspected the house. "Natsumi, this is all…"

"I know, it's a lot, but once all of those frogs get started there's no stopping them! I'll tell them to take it down as soon as they—"

"This is fantastic! I love it! It's been a while since we've had the house this done up!" Aki exclaimed, "I can't wait to see what it looks like with all of the lights lit!"

"That shouldn't be a problem as soon as I fix this one strand," Haruki took him his ladder once again, and Aki went to follow Natsumi into the house, only stopping for a moment.

"Suzuyama-san, I really hope you're not smoking near my house. That's a very, very bad habit," Aki said in a tone that was both matronly and a bit passive-aggressive. Haruki immediately extinguished the light on the snow of the roof, and resumed working.

When they got inside Natsumi found quite a bit had changed the few minutes she was gone. It had gone from an idyllic scene of peace to one of complete confusion, although this was normal for the Hinata house. Fuyuki was now standing over the couch, with Keroro beside him, and Romama on the couch. The Keronian Major looked as though he was in serious pain.

"Taruru found him outside, Nee-chan," Fuyuki explained.

"He looked like he was limping… Hey, just who is he, anyway?" Taruru asked.

"Here, Ojiisama, did you want some soup?" Keroro held out a bowl to Romama, but Romama only pushed it away and turned away from all of them, his back to all of them.

"Hrm?" Aki bent down and lifted him up, and Natsumi gasped.

"Mama, watch out, he—"

"Natsumi, get me a towel and run the hot water in the bathroom sink, all right?" Aki asked, holding Romama now and the teal Keronian, surprisingly enough, clinging onto her passively.

"Huh? Sure," Natsumi nodded, and hurried off to do just that.

"Is there anything you need me to do, Mama-dono?"

"Make Roma-chan a nice spot on the couch here, Kero-chan," Aki smiled and carried off the young boy. "Looks as though you hurt your tail pretty badly… I don't know a lot about fixing a tail, but if it's anything like any other bruise I child would get, you should be all right."

By the end of it, Romama's tail bore a bandage on it from Aya's accidental stepping on it earlier in the morning. Aki dried off her hands and smiled warmly at the young boy.

"It looks as though it isn't broken, but you shouldn't do any hard work for at least the rest of the day with it like that," Aki instructed, and her eyes opened and she grew concerned as she saw Romama begin to shake. Keroro walked in just in time with a fresh towel to see this take place, and he stood there, only making a small noise of confusion at first.

"Are Pekoponian medical techniques really that rough to make even someone as tough Ojiisama tear up?" Keroro asked in awe, setting aside the pile of towels in his arms and hopping up on the toilet seat. Romama was crying now, and clinging onto Aki.

"No… I think he's just missing his family… That happens a lot to people this time of the year, Kero-chan," Aki patted Romama on the head and smiled. "And Roma-chan doesn't have a lot around him that's familiar anymore."

"What a kind woman," Keroro muttered in awe.

"Roma-chan, it's all right…" Aki lifted him up and the young boy released his grip of her and wiped his eyes. He couldn't help it; she had reminded him of his own mother in that moment of kindness. Aki carried him out of the bathroom, and Keroro stood there for a moment, contemplative.

"Ojiisama couldn't go back to his family even if he wanted…" Keroro muttered in realization.


	4. Part Four

Chapter 4

Aki sat Romama on the couch, and Romama tried to hide his tears as best as possible. The rest of the platoon was up now, as well as the two member of the Garuru platoon.

"I'll get you a blanket, stay right there," Aki instructed him, and Romama nodded.

"Say, who is that guy, anyway, Sensei?" Tamama jolted as Taruru asked this, and the black tadpole tried to think up a lie, and think it up quick.

"He's um… Well, he's…."

"He's Stupid Frog's stupid nephew," Natsumi interjected, much to the surprise of all, including Keroro, who only walked in just as Natsumi said this.

"N-Natsumi-dono…" Keroro said beneath his breath. Natsumi opened one shut eye to Keroro, and gave a smirk.

"Oh! Well, it's great to meet you! You sure don't say a lot, huh? Well, that's okay, with those eyes you're expressive enough!" Taruru exclaimed.

"Don't destroy him, he actually means well," Tamama begged Romama wearily.

"And so I call to suspend project FZN for the time-being!" Keroro stood at his podium once more later on, when it was nearly night.

"Kukuku, the less work the better. It wasn't particularly interesting anyway," Kururu chuckled, and studied the black top hat in his hand. "Another one for the trash heap, kuku!" he laughed, setting the hat back down on his desk.

"Eh, Giroro?" Keroro blinked as he saw Giroro was already halfway to the door. "Where are you off to?"

Giroro cringed, and only half-formed an answer as he hurried out. He had only one more day to get to the stores. This bizarre behavior from the corporal briefly stunned the rest of the platoon, but they quickly recovered, and Keroro continued.

"Mois-dono, if you would?" Keroro smiled sweetly, and Mois nodded, pressing a button that brought down a projector screen. The Angol was already dressed of the holiday in green and white, as well as some holly in her hair.

"Gunso-san, what're we going to say if we look like we're not doing anything?" Tamama asked.

"Kuku, that it's just another ordinary day!"

"…With the quips as always, Kururu Socho. We're to declare this weekend a studying of our enemies traditions, as well as engaging ourselves in said traditions!"

"That's a pretty good bullshit, it just might work," Tamama admitted, and then switched back to his cute and lovely personality. "Gunso-san's the best!"

"Teicho-dono, if we're to do this, what are your orders?" Dororo asked.

"Eh? Dororo? When did you get here?" Keroro blinked. Dororo cringed and gave a yelp, and the sergeant continued, "Orders are for independent study! I'm going to undertake some of my own as we speak!" he then lifted up three large Gunpla boxes from beneath the podium and walked down the steps with them. They blocked most of his vision, so it was an amazement Keroro didn't take a tumble down the stairs. "Meeting adjourned!"

He then sang to himself all the up to the Hinata house, and dropped the Gunpla on the living room coffee table, right in front of Romama. The major glanced at Keroro, a bit curious and with the usual look of contempt, and Keroro wiped his forehead and leaned on the stack of boxes; it had been some work getting them up on to the living room.

"Ojiisama, I figured since we're the only family each other has on this planet, we might as well spend some time together on this holiday!"

There was something morbidly touching about it, Romama thought. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly crawled off of the couch and lifted up one of the Gunpla boxes to examine it. He then opened it, looked at one of the sheets of plastic, and took a bite of it, to see whether or not it was edible. Chewy, but still not the worst thing he had eaten.

Keroro let out a cry of horror, and a fight began between the two, which ended with Romama knocking Keroro out with a punch to the top of the head and then sitting atop his nephew for a cushion, and taking up studying one of the plastic sheets again.

"I've been here this long and barely gotten in a word with her!" Tororo looked out the glass door of the Hinata house and out at the snow bitterly, paying no heed to the fight going on behind him. "And now I find out she's here with some pretty-boy!"

"Hey, you're awful glum! And there must be something wrong with you, I've only seen you take five of your usual nine snack breaks today!" Taruru came up behind him, with his arms behind his back.

"Pupupu, if you don't want to freeze, leave me alone…"

"Hey, I've got some good news for you! I was doing some of my own research on this holiday, and I found something that could save you yet!"

"Really? Some kind of a weapon?"

"Better!" Taruru answered excitedly, and pulled out what looked like a small sprig of green leaves with white berries from behind his back.

"….And you outrank me…"

"No, listen, this stuff is just what you need! Look, you hang it up here, like this, right?" Taruru held it above his head.

"And it eats the competition!"

"No, not quite. You stand under it with the person you like, and you're supposed to kiss them if you stand underneath it!" Taruru mimicked this, leaning inward and looking a bit like a fish as he did so.

"Hey, Aki, I finished with the—Woah!" Haruki jumped back at the sight and nearly dropped the ladder under his arm. Romama was staring at a plastic sheet, beating it gently against the table, and using Keroro as his own personal throne, and Taruru and Tororo looked… Haruki didn't even entertain the thought. He hurried out of the home, calling out, "See you for Christmas Eve!"

"Huh… Wonder what got into him!" Taruru wondered aloud. "…These Pekoponians Sensei's lined up with get stranger and stranger!"

"Wowwww!" Kirere gasped and hopped up to get a better look in the shop window. "Look at all of the toys! They're so shiny!"

They weren't average toys, either, Garuru noted… What she was staring at so longingly were sets of power tools.

"Come on, you'll slip on that…" Garuru lifted her down from the ledge and she gave a moan.

"Maybe for my birthday then…" she said with a tone of hope in her voice. She yawned and then gave a shiver, and Garuru didn't miss this. He instructed her to sit on the nearest park bench, and he took a seat next to her. They both had on their cloaking devices, allowing them to watch the Pekoponians go about their business being none the wiser to the two aliens. Kirere shoved her hands in her jacket pockets for warmth, and buried herself deeper in the numerous jackets Giroro had made her put on before she left the house.

"Does Keron get like this around winter?" she asked, and Garuru thought for a moment.

"No, never this cold," he answered, and then it was silent between them for a little while longer.

"It's pretty though, huh? I mean this snow, it's nice..."

"Yes… I suppose it is…" he thought of the weather as more of an annoyance, but didn't voice this.

"Would my dad have liked it when he was little?"

"Probably…I'm not sure."

"You two were a lot closer when he was younger too, huh?"

"I suppose so, yes…"

"Do you miss that sometimes?" Garuru's head snapped in her direction, and she gasped. "S-sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's all right," Garuru answered. "I've just never thought about that. Our relationship's changed, but we're still brothers. Nothing can take away that. I'll always look after family, just like yours will look after you…. It's getting close to your bedtime, isn't it?"

"N-no…"

"I can spot when someone isn't telling the truth…."

"Well… My legs hurt, I don't want to walk anymore."

Garuru nodded and lifted her up onto his back wordlessly, all while Kirere began to feel heavy and sleepy. She had drifted into a small snore by the time they reached home.

When Romama woke up the following morning, it was to the flash of a camera. His eyes darted open, and he looked straight across; Keroro's face, mere inches from his own. Then over to the group standing above him; Kururu was there with a camera, snapping pictures. Aki was also there, as was Natsumi and Fuyuki.

"Sorry, you were both too cute to wake up, so we just moved you both from the floor to the couch!" Aki answered, clasping her hands together apologetically.

Romama indeed was on the couch beside his nephew, a blanket draped over both to them.

"…Char…" Keroro murmured, and grabbed onto Romama by the waist, pinning the Keronian back to the couch while Romama squirmed to get out of Keroro's grasp.

"Oh!" Aki gasped and looked at her cell phone. "I'll be late if I don't leave now! I'll try to be home soon, if I'm not, save me some dinner!"

"All right, Mama, have a good time at work!" Natsumi called out.

"Bye, Mama!" Fuyuki added. At this point Romama managed to wriggle out of Keroro's grasp and took off running; tonight was the dance recital, he had to be there for Aya.

"That was a little weird, huh, Nee-chan?" Fuyuki asked with an unsure laugh.

"I'm starting to think the weirdness is genetic," Natsumi deadpanned.

"Have you guys seen my Dad around?" Kirere walked into the house, having been nearly run over by Romama in the process. "He hasn't been in his tent at all this morning, and I had to feed Neko!"

"Hrm, I haven't seen him either, come to think of it," Natsumi murmured.

"Kuku! That reminds me, I have things to do…" Kururu tossed aside his camera and skulked back to the door to his lab. Keroro began to kick and mutter in his sleep.

"Hehe, looks like he's dreaming, Nee-chan!"

"Natsumi-dono… Destroy… Natsumi-dono…" Keroro muttered. "Take over… Pekopon… Dororo Heichi, when did you get here? Why are you wearing mittens, and on your feet, for that matter?"

"Looks like it's time to wake him up," Natsumi added. Kirere quickly backed out of the scene, just in time to miss the yelling that ensued. She gave a yelp as she bumped her back against someone else's after scooting all the way into the kitchen, and this bump caused Tororo to drop a few of the snacks on the top of the pile he'd attained while in the kitchen.

"Hey, watch it, you—Eh!?" Tororo halted as he saw who he was talking to exactly, and Kirere scratched the back of her head and laughed apologetically.

"Sorry, I just try to get out of their fights as soon as possible! Oh, hey! You're good with computers, right?"

"…Pupupu! Not to brag, but I'm the best…"

"Great! You can help me then!" she pulled him along, and all of the snacks fell out of Tororo's hands as he went along with this. Taruru, from his covert spot in one of the cabinets, stepped out and clenched his fist.

"Yeah! He's got this!"

"Got what, exactly?" Taruru yelped as Garuru folded his arms and one pupil came into view, staring right at Taruru.

"E-eh? Oh, nothing, Sir! Nothing!"

"Here, I can put back all of the pieces, but I can't get the computer itself to work," Kirere passed Tororo the same metal sphere she had shown Garuru previously, and the Keronian hacker studied it for a moment, until Kirere reached over and pressed a button, causing the ball to open up into a series of still-conjoined ribs. The computer was now visible, and Tororo took a small screwdriver and began to open it up to reveal the harddrive.

"Pupupu, that's the problem, you need a new hard drive! You put a fried one in here, what a rookie mistake. You can even see it's literally burnt!" Tororo laughed, and pulled out the hard drive from it.

"Well sorry," Kirere snorted, and Tororo only realized his tone after this cold exchange. "Huh?" her mood went back to its usual cheeriness as she found something laying on the ground. "A top hat? Here? But why…."

"It should work now, after a charge," Tororo placed in a new hard drive and then screwed back on the cover.

"I've got an idea what we can do until then," Kirere announced.

"Huh?" Tororo stared down at the top hat, and Kirere laughed and ran out, carrying the hat with her.

"I've failed as a parent… And with Natsumi, as well… I'm the top soldier in Keron! But if I really were that, wouldn't we have Pekopon conquered by now? Maybe I'm not even that…" Giroro resigned himself to his tent later on in that night; shopping had been a nightmare, and the even bigger nightmare was he hadn't been able to find either item.

He removed his scarf and sat down on the floor of his tent, and gave a weary sigh as Neko rubbed up against him for support. "I'm sorry, but please, not now… They'll both be so disappointed."

"Hey, Red! You home!?" came probably the last voice aside from Keroro that Giroro wanted to hear right now. Haruki stuck his head into the tent a moment later, and gave a smile. "I'm a little big for you to invite in, but I wanted to drop off something for you while I was here."

"Whatever it is, Pekoponian, I don't want it," Giroro snapped, laying down and turning his back to Haruki.

"In case you do, I'll leave it here. Hey, it wasn't easy to find, so at least look at it, all right? I went to a lot of trouble!" Haruki shoved a box into the tent, and Giroro gave a huff, only standing and poking at the box after he was sure Haruki was gone. It wasn't ticking, so that was a good sign…  
Giroro cautiously opened the box, and had to stifle a gasp at what he found. He quickly rushed to his stack of ads to compare, and indeed it was the music box from the ad. "The bill-dodger…. He… I… I have to wrap this!"

It was only when he nearly fell over himself to find his wrapping paper that he noticed the other box, a flat rectangular one. There was a note on it, in handwriting that was too perfect not too be his older brother's.

Dad found this while cleaning. Think she might like it.

No signature. It didn't need one. "This is…" Giroro couldn't finish. "…This is one of those Pekoponian Christmas miracles, isn't it…?"

"What?!" Aya yelped from behind stage. Romama had managed to make it just in time to the theater, and he stood on the lighting scaffolding to get a good look of the scene. "He—He couldn't have gotten sick!"

"I'm sorry, Aya, but you know the bug that's been going around," the dancer instructor answered. "I really am sorry, but there's no one else who knows the routine like he did. Our last stand in ill as well. We'll… Just have to cut it from the program."

"M-maybe it could be a solo?"

"Aya… I'm very sorry…" the dance instructor patted her on the shoulder and then left Aya there, her head drooped and her eyes close to tears as she stood in the middle of the bustle.

But there was someone else who knew the routine, Romama thought, his eyes widening at this realization. He'd never tried it, but…

Aya wiped her eyes and pushed her way past the other dancers down the narrow stage corridor, but she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. It was warm, and she gasped, startled at the yellow eyes of the young boy who stopped her. He wasn't much older than her, but he was taller. His hair was sloppy, and a light shade of blue, and he was pale. He was also dressed up in the costume of her partner, save for the red bandanna he had wrapped around one wrist.

"You… They found someone to fill in?! Are you one of the understudies?" Aya wiped her eyes, and the boy nodded. "What's you name?"

He then pointed to his throat, and Aya caught on after a moment, "You lost your voice from that bug that's going around! Sensei, Sensei! He's here, the last stand in! He doesn't have his voice, but he's here!" she pulled along the boy, and the teacher looked him over critically for a few moments, with such eyes that even he shook a bit.

"…..It looks as though he did…." she murmured. "All right then, Aya… Go get ready again, you're on in a few."

Aya nodded and then ran off, laughing, leaving Romama with the teacher.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull…" said the teacher. "But if you end up embarrassing me and her, you'll have hell to pay."

That particular Pekoponian would never stop terrifying him, Romama thought as she left him.

Soon enough it was their time to go on, and Aya looked over at her dance partner once more nervously before she first entered the stage. Romama nodded to her, signaling that it would be all right as she looked back over her shoulder for a split second to him. The human-form Keronian major entered soon afterward, and then they began to dance as a duo. It was after he kept her from falling the first time that Aya knew something was familiar about him.

After the dance routine ended, the curtain fell, and Aya wiped her forehead, thoroughly drained. Romama took a few steps away from her as some of the other dancers rushed to praise her, and by the time Aya was able to get past him to thank him, he had vanished, and one of the back doors to the theater was wide open.

"I didn't even get his name…" she said quietly. "But... Thank you... Whoever you were..."

"Anddd then we should use coal for eyes, but since we don't have any of that around here, we'll use some chocolate candy!" Kirere announced as she stuck them on the snowman's face. He was already dressed in an old, long scarf she'd managed to scare up, as well as a few large buttons from an old jacket she'd found. She'd raided the vegetable bin for a carrot for the nose, and the arms were made out of old twigs. And it had taken a little bit of creativity, but she and Tororo had eventually opted to use more chocolates to form the smile.

"This is such a primitive form of entertainment, I'm surprised Pekoponians don't just throw rocks around for fun," Tororo grumbled.

"Now he's almost done!" Kirere picked up the hat and smiled. Tororo flinched; on the side of the hat… There was that weird plant Taruru had mentioned to him! He nervously started to lean inward, but not before being taken by surprise by Kirere, who hopped back up on the stool and went to place it on the snowman's head.

"There's this one Pekopon song where they talk about the snowman coming to life!" Kirere added as she placed it on his head.

"Well that's a childish—" Tororo stopped and Kirere gave a scream as the snowman began to fidget, knocking her off of her stepladder. Tororo lifted her back up, and then both scrambled as the snowman took a lunge forward and gave a growl, baring fangs made of sharpened ice. "I thought that was a story!" he shouted as they both backed away from the monster.

"M-Me, too!" Kirere answered in a shriek, "Dad, Papa! Help!"


	5. Part Five

Chapter 5

"Eh?" Giroro had just finished laying down his two presents under the tree when he heard the screams, and he jerked his head over to the clear glass door, and saw it. First, it was Kirere and Tororo, who looked to be running after their lives. Then there was a snow monster, now at least eight feet tall, bounding after them. That wasn't normal, even for the Hinata household.

"Gero?" Keroro walked in with his apron and a duster in hand, and dropped the feather duster and allowed his jaw to drop as well as he saw the snow monster lumber away and then heard a cracking that could have only been the house's fence.

"Wh-what was that!?" Giroro demanded.

"Kukuku! Project FZN," both jumped at Kururu's voice, and the yellow scientist stood wearing a green sweater and holding a few packages in his arms. "Looks as though it was activated anyway."

Keroro gaped, "But how…"

"That doesn't matter!" Giroro shouted, and ran out.

"W-wait! Giroro Gocho, where are you going?!" Keroro called out as Giroro rushed out, but there was no answer.

The snow man was picking up speed and mass now, and Tororo and Kirere were right in its path. The little orange hacker was running out of breath, but Kirere grabbed hold of one of his wrists and kept running.

They eventually lost the snowman, but kept running a long while afterward, out of pure fear. They finally stopped when Tororo collapsed and Kirere did the same, panting while kneeling in the middle of the snowy white blueness.

"That… Wasn't supposed to happen…" Kirere puffed. "I… I thought it was just a story Papa told me to scare me!"

"My side… Ow…! There's a reason I don't run!" Tororo moaned, and then sat up. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Huh?" Kirere only looked about now, at all of the closed, darkened, unfamiliar buildings. "I… I don't know… Oh, no!" she gave a cry of horror as she looked down at her wrist. "It's gone! My bracelet's gone!"

"We were just chased by a monster that tried to eat us, and that's what you're worrying about? You can always get another one, it's not a big deal or anything… "

"To me it is!" Kirere cried out. "It must've broken off while were running. It's black, with a silver buckle! It looks just like my dad's belt but tiny!"

"Pupupu! We don't even know where we are, and it's cold, that's what we should be worrying about instead of something small like that!"

"I… I guess so, but…" Kirere looked about on the ground, her worried eyes scanning it over. "….We should find home, huh?... I always do this to them…"

"Kukuku! At least it contains easily," Kururu laughed as the snow monster growled and clawed at the plexiglass, its icicle teeth and claws sharp and its eyes bloodthirsty. Giroro wiped off the blood from his mouth that had been inflicted in trying to subdue the monster, and glared upward at it.

"You're not the one who had to contain it, so that's easy for you to say," Giroro snapped.

"It looks like a really angry snowcone…" Tamama muttered as he stood beside it. It jumped, hitting the glass, and the black Keronian jumped back in response to this. Kururu gave a laugh, and switched on a button the back of the plexiglass.

"Let's see how it likes the warm weather, kukuku!" he laughed, and indeed the box did start to feel warmer, even from outside of it. The snowman looked about, confused, as it began to melt into a an icy glop on the bottom of the tank.

"I still can't find her or Tororo anywhere," Giroro now rubbed his arms for warmth as he returned, and Garuru's face shown no emotion, but he looked over to Taruru.

"We can't get a signal from him, Garuru Chui," Taruru answered. "His communicator could be off or damaged, or the weather's too poor to receive one."

"Kukuku! No worries, I put a tracking device on our adventurer, it should be no problem finding them," Kururu grinned and held up his remote.

"Yeah, we need to find both of them, and quick! It's cold even for December," Natsumi added.

Haruki pulled around to the back and through the destroyed fence on his scooter, and parked it right in front of the group. "This'll be quicker, anyone need a lift?"

Giroro hopped into the basket, followed by Kururu, who had the remote. They then sped off in search for the two.

Romama hopped up onto the fence and then onto the ground, and looked questioningly at the destroyed fence.

"No, Romama-dono, it wasn't directly Teicho-dono's fault this time," Dororo explained. "We should split up as well. Tamama-dono, did you want to stay and wait in case they come back?"

Tamama nodded, and Taruru quickly interjected, "I'll stay with Sensei, and we'll keep a watch on the perimeter!"

"And I'll go with the search party," Garuru added, pressing on his belt and unfolding his angel pack.

"Mois-dono, let's check out closer to the stores, they couldn't have gotten too far," Keroro added, and Mois nodded, totally oblivious to the jealousy radiating off of Tamama.

"She gets to go alone with Gunso… That woman!" Tamama seethed.

"It'd be a good idea if we looked for them too, Nee-chan," Fuyuki added. Natsumi gave a nod, and soon it was only Taruru, Tamama, and the melted snow monster, which was now little more than a hat, at the home base.

"Did you find her!?" Giroro asked quickly as Kururu trudged back through the snow.

"Kuku! Just the tracking device that was on her bracelet," he answered, holding up the small red button.

"Well… We shouldn't give up now!" Haruki could read Giroro's concerned expression at the sight of the lone tracking signal. "They might be going this way, let's keep looking! It's Christmas, right? Miracles are supposed to happen on Christmas!"

They then sped off again after Kururu had climbed into the basket, and Giroro kept a vigilant eye out for both Kirere and Tororo.

"It's really cold…" Kirere mumbled as she buried herself deeper into her jacket, "I wish I'd worn the extra mittens like Dad told me to…"

Tororo wasn't good at advice, or pep talks. He about had a heart attack when Kirere moved closer to him as they sat in front of an abandoned toy store. But he did one of the things he knew he was good at. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a snack cake, "…Do you want half?"

"Huh? I haven't eaten in a while, so okay," Kirere nodded, and Tororo opened up the bag and split the cake in half. "…It'd be better with hot sauce…"

"Pupupupu! You're a weirdo," Tororo said openly. "But I guess there's worse to be."

"Hehe… You're not as mean as I thought you were! Actually, you're kinda nice."

"What?! I'm a lot of things, but nice isn't one of them! Badass, definitely, but not nice!"

This had Kirere laughing so hard she eventually slipped out a, "Kikikiki!" then immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment.

"That just happens when I laugh really hard," she grumbled, finishing her snack cake.

'Why'd that make her cuter?' Tororo wondered, slightly disturbed by this. "Hey, even though you're a complete weirdo, I—"

"Kirere-channnn!" Keroro ran full-force at the little girl and lifted her up, then swung her around like she was little more than a rag doll. When he finally released her, Kirere stumbled a bit, and then collapsed into the snow.

"Could you say, a happy reunion?" Mois interjected with a grin. At this same time, Haruki's scooter stopped at the same spot, and Giroro jumped out. Kururu slowly climbed out and hopped onto the snow with a small grunt. Giroro picked up the little girl from the snow and embraced her just as tightly as Keroro had moments before.

"Don't spin me! If you spin me I'll throw up!" Kirere begged as she was in Giroro's deathgrip.

A hovercraft descended, carrying Dororo and Romama, and Garuru descended at the same time.

"Hey, you guys are all right!" Taruru exclaimed as he and Tamama joined them, and finally Natsumi and Fuyuki.

"I thought your orders were to stay at the base," Garuru asked critically, and Taruru gave a laugh.

"Sensei kept asking to go, wanting to make sure his little sister was all right!" Taruru answered cheerfully, and Tamama glared.

"I just didn't want the search to go until Christmas, so I wouldn't get to open my gifts!" Tamama answered, but this was just an obvious brave front.

"What happened?" Giroro asked. "How did that thing…"

"I just saw a hat lying around…" Kirere answered. "I-I'm sorry, it's my fault…."

"Kukuku, you should know not to pick up something in there on a whim," Kururu chimed in. "Well, at least you weren't eaten."

"It's all right, Kirere-chan! If I'd counted the times I'd nearly unleashed a bloodthirsty killing machine on Pekopon, I'd have…. Well, how many times a week would you say you went out, Giroro Gocho?"

Giroro answered this with a punch to Keroro that sent him flying back.

"Come on, you're probably both cold," Garuru sighed, and Tororo stood and both he and Kirere climbed into the front of Haruki's scooter, and they drove off back to the Hinata house. Soon everyone met up at the house, and the snow monster was taken down to Kururu's lab for storage.

"I'm gonna leave out cookies and milk for Santa!" Tamama exclaimed happily as he set these very things on the coffee table.

"And I'm leaving out curry for him!" Kirere added, plunking down a large plate right next to the cookies. "It's sweet curry, so it's even better than cookies!"

"Who ever heard of leaving out curry for Santa?" Tamama scoffed and walked away from her. "It's your bedtime, anyway!"

"There's no point in going to bed now, it's Christmas morning," Giroro answered, and indeed the sun was giving its first hints of rising above suburban Japan. "Looks as though Santa will have to wait another year for curry and cookies."

"Kukuku, then he won't mind me," Kururu chuckled and picked up the plate of curry, and dove right in.

"Does this mean we get to open up presents?!" Kirere asked excitedly, grabbing onto Giroro's arm.

"Well, I… I-it's not up to me!" Giroro answered, clearing his throat.

"Please?"

"Gya!" Giroro opened his own eyes and saw she was using her cutest expression. "I… Fine, I guess it's all right…"

"All right, presents!" Keroro was equally happy at this prospect, but his childlike smile fell as he felt someone tapping him on the back. Romama was glancing at the ground, and it was obvious there was something behind his back. After a few moments he stepped to the side, and pushed the box in front of Keroro.

"He's sorry that he didn't have time to wrap it well, Kerorod-dono," Dororo explained, and Romama gave a small sigh, watching as Keroro tore open the wrapping paper. "He's hoping that you don't have it, it was a last-minute gift."

Keroro gave a gasp of joy as he lifted up the model box, "A-an Admiral Geroro limited edition model of the spaceship!? O-Ojiisama!" Romama cringed in pain at the hug that followed, but took it in stride.

"Haruki!" Kirere lifted up a small box from beneath the tree and then hopped up onto Haruki's lap. "Here, this one's your's!"

"It better not be living," said the mechanic with a grin. "I still haven't found that lizard you wrapped me for my birthday… Oh… It's a… Necktie…"

"Yup!" Kirere nodded. "Just like in the commercials!"

Fuyuki opened up his present from Kirere and indeed it was also a tie.

"What did she get you, Nee-chan?" he asked his sister in a whisper.

"A toaster," Natsumi answered in utter confusion, and they exchanged awkward laughs at this.

"The girls were always getting appliances and the guys were always getting ties on TV!" Kirere explained.

"I'll have something festive to hang myself with now," Haruki said beneath his breath, and then grinned. "Thanks, kid! It's… Something I wouldn't have thought to get myself!"

"Kukukuku! Here. It won't do much for your intelligence or abilities, but this day's about useless trinkets anyway," Kururu passed Kirere a small box, and Giroro looked baffled, wondering what possibly could be in the box….

Knowing Kururu, it was anything. This quickly exchanged for relief as Kirere opened it and pulled out her bracelet. She leapt forward and embraced Kururu, causing the scientist's glasses to break and leaving him twitching on the floor.

"Could you say a true heart conquers all?" Mois said as she finished opening her gift from Kirere, which was also a toaster.

"Why don't you open up the one from your father?" Garuru asked the young girl, and she nodded, stepping over Kururu and pulling out the box. Giroro watched with a clenched breath as she opened it, and after she opened the box, she gave a happy laugh, and pulled out one of the toy trains.

"Eh? Say… I remember this…" Keroro peered over her shoulder, and Dororo did the same.

"Yes, this was Giroro-dono's, when he was small!" Dororo nodded.

"It's a real Lionel, too!" Kirere said in awe as she studied it.

"You're familiar with these?" Giroro kneeled beside her, and she nodded, although she was already becoming enthralled in her work, studying each piece. "…We should put that together later."

"Yeah, sounds great!" Kirere and he exchanged a smile, but Giroro's attention shifted as he heard a few tinkling notes. Natsumi had opened up her gift, and she was staring down at the small dancers. Romama hopped up next to her and looked at the dancers as well; they reminded him of…

"Thanks, Tamama!" Giroro and Haruki went pale. Indeed there was Giroro's gift, still wrapped underneath the tree.

"No problem, Na-chii! Momo-chii and I knew you would like it when we were shopping!" Tamama said with a cute little giggle.

"You're dead," Giroro grumbled to the private as he trudged out with his box.

Tamama gave a gulp, and then a yelp as he felt someone non-Keroro invading his personal space. It was his "sister", and she was hanging mistletoe over his head. She might as well been hanging a grenade under him… Tamama gave a groan of disgust as she kissed him on the cheek, and Taruru could almost hear the heartbreak next to him as he glanced at his subordinate.

"Gross, I have your cooties now!" Tamama yelled in horror. "They'll never come off, and who knows what the hell I'll catch!"

She then moved on to a surprised Romama, and Tororo's fists clenched and he turned to leave. Taruru was barely able to let out a squeak as Kirere hopped off of the couch and then walked over to Tororo.

"Snack cakes are gross, but… Thanks for sharing it," she kissed him on the cheek, and Tororo's face went red, and his glasses cracked. Giroro was plastered to the glass of the back window, a mortified look on his face. The handle on Garuru's coffee mug which he had been using cracked, and even Kururu, who was in the beginning stages of recovery, watched this in silent interest.

"Is he okay?" Kirere gasped and took a step back, and Taruru peeled the boy off of the floor and chuckled.

"Yeah… He just caught a cold I think and it's only catching up to him now!" Taruru answered. All three of the Garuru Platoon members turned their heads as Garuru's communicator sounded, and the lieutenant glanced down at the small metallic ball.

"Looks as though our ride's here," Garuru set down his cracked coffee mug on the table as he announced this to Taruru and Tororo.

"That's too bad… I just finished opening your present, too! I'll be sure to learn some of the bigger words in it!" Kirere held up the book Garuru had given her, and Garuru gave a nod.

"I thought that you'd like that. I'll be checking in… And I feel strange for saying this, but part of me actually had a good time. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your vacation as well," said Garuru to the group.

"Vacation?" Keroro reiterated.

"Of course… Why else would you spend the past few days doing nothing?" Garuru stared down the green Keronian, and Keroro gave a cringe at the superior's glare.

"R-right, of course," Keroro nodded.

"You should come back as soon as you can!" everyone gave a collective look of "oh, no!" as Kirere said this cheerfully to her uncle and then passed him two brightly wrapped boxes. "These are for Pururu-san and Zoruru-san!"

"A toaster and necktie, correct?"

"Yup!" Kirere nodded.

"They'll…. Appreciate the sentiment," Garuru said, and then passed the boxes off to Taruru. "See you around."

"Bye!" Kirere waved as her uncle opened up the front door and then he, Taruru, and Tororo all filed out, and were then lifted up by a beam of light, and vanished. "I hope they like what I got them."

"That was an awful nice trip, huh?" Taruru exclaimed as they escalated up to the ship. "And we got to meet the Sergeant's nephew, too!"

This caught Garuru's attention; he'd sworn that Keroro had been an only child growing up, so how…

Romama. It suddenly hit him where that name came from, as he remembered a story he'd told his brother long ago, a myth about the first mission to Pekopon. But it was impossible to even think that… Garuru focused his thoughts on other things for the time being.

"Yes, it was successful… Although I do have some questions about the recruit's recent actions…" Garuru added, turning one pupil straight on the duo.

"Ehehe, well, you know, Garuru Chui… Boys will be boys!" Taruru twittered nervously.

"That's exactly what bothers me," Garuru answered swiftly, causing both to cringe in fear at his darkened glare.

"Well… Fortunately that went off without a hitch," Keroro sighed with relief, and Giroro just as quickly went into a full-blown yell.

"Without a hitch!? You called what just happened without a hitch?! My kid almost got eaten, and then, just now—What was that look that boy gave you, Kirere? I didn't like it, I—"

"I'm home! Hey, who left the door open? It'll get chilly in here!" Aki called out as she entered, shutting the door behind her and hopping into the living room. "Oh, wow, looks like you're all having a good time already, huh? Sorry I'm so late, but deadlines don't really take a holiday."

"Mama! Come on in, we still have your gifts here, too!" Natsumi stood aside and allowed Aki to sit down on the couch, and Natsumi turned her attention then to what was going on behind the couch. After being calmed down, Giroro had taken to setting up the train set with Kirere. Natsumi lied down on the floor, and watched them work. They were sitting identically, she noticed with a chuckle.

"Eh? What's so funny?" Giroro wondered.

"Nothing, just… Anything I can help with?" Natsumi asked.

"You can help set up the trees around the tracks," Kirere instructed, and Natsumi began to do so. Giroro thought the quality time better than anything he could have bought Natsumi…

Most of the rest of the day went along as best as it could for family…There were fights, but they were mainly smaller ones. Most of the platoon disbanded by the afternoon, and Kirere finally crashed late in the evening. Giroro found her already in bed when he went to put some of her gifts in her room, a hand over her precious bracelet. Kururu shut the book he had been looking through that was on her dresser and gave a laugh.

"It looks as though Senpai in getting soft, kukuku!"

"Heh, like I don't know who carried her here," Giroro snorted. "I suppose I owe you some thanks for finding that bracelet of hers, too."

"My, you are getting soft if you're being cordial to me! Kuukuku!" Kururu chuckled as he shuffled out of the bedroom. "I better do something awful and quick, I don't think I can take a nicer you!"

"Heh," Giroro looked over the book on the dresser, and he immediately recognized the slightly worn cover. It'd been one of his own favorites growing up. Maybe they weren't as different as he thought.

She gave a mumble and turned a bit in bed, and Giroro adjusted the sheets and switched off the light, "Merry Pekoponian holiday to you, too, Kirere… I'm glad that you enjoyed it."

"Kukuku, I heard that from over here! You are going soft!"

"Shut up, fool!" Giroro growled before he shut her bedroom door. "It's not Christmas anymore, I can get back to my being my old self now!"

It wasn't the most traditional of families, but the mixture of soldiers, ninjas, DJs, dancers, mechanics, assassins, otaku, geeks, occultists, and others alike made up a family all the same.

The End

And from my family to yours, a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Hopeful New Year.


End file.
